Moonjava: Thank you for reviewing.
Whylove: Thanks, Mina. I haven't forget the other thing I'm supposed to add, either.
Dull brown buildings were scattered ahead of the teens like ugly warts. Besides the gate guards, no goblins could be seen any where.
Morwen moaned and sat down on the ground.
"We're not going to get out of this alive!" she muttered. She stared out over the labyrinth, her eyes wide and staring, as if she'd been hypnotized. "There's no way we're going to -"
"Morwen!" Mina said sharply. Her friend turned towards her, looking but not really seeing. "Morwen, isn't it a little early for you to be acting like this? And why the heck are you giving up on me?"
"Three hours, Mina. Three hours. It took Sarah four to find her way to those two door guards, the ones that looked like playing cards. And she wasn't even close to half way through then!" Morwen's voice rose in pitch, her eyes wider than before.
"Morwen, listen." Minako knelt in front of her friend and put her hands on her shoulders, forcing Morwen to look in her eyes. "This is getting us no where. You and I aren't Sarah, and, any ways, that was a movie. We don't have to go where she went or make her mistakes. Damn, we're trying to get away from the castle, not to it! Now, I really, really need you to snap out of it. I need you to come up with a plan to get us out of here. Now come on! Help us. Alright?"
The Marauders exchanged glances, but didn't interrupt as Morwen pulled herself together.
She took a shuddering breath and nodded. "A -alright." She seemed calmer, though her voice was softer when she continued. "You're right; we can do this. Jareth wouldn't've given us an impossible task."
"I'm not so sure of that," Mina said, standing.
"No," Morwen said thoughtfully, still sitting. "He's unfair and a little mean, but he's confident of his powers, so giving us something impossible would be dull and too easy for him. He wants us to have some chance of escaping him."
"How do you figure that?" Sirius asked, curious and skeptical.
"Because -" Morwen stopped as something caught her eye. She leaned down and picked up a little gold pocket watch that lay by her feet. The watch showed three hours only, but it also showed all the minutes in between them. Two tiny swords served as hands; the larger one was two and a half minutes past the first hour mark. Morwen stood abruptly and showed the watch to the others.
"Come on, I'll explain as we walk."
She put the watch in her pocket, and they set off. At first sight, the village appeared to be deserted. But as the walked through it, the group of teens noticed eyes peering at them from doorways or windows; eyes that would vanish as soon as they were spotted.
Peter looked around, taking in everything. Rotten food and pieces of junk were scattered over the street. The teens stepped gingerly, as somethings were rotted beyond recognition, and they probably hadn't been pleasant to begin with. The further they went into the city, the stronger the smell of rotten eggs and urine.
"The Goblin King likes being in charge," Morwen explained. "But he also likes entertainment. What's more entertaining than dangling a prize in front of someone weaker than yourself, and then laughing when they can't get it?"
"Well that sounds like we've got a chance," Sirius sneered, looking over at James.
"I think I understand," Mina said.
"Me, too," Remus added.
"Well, I don't," Sirius said, looking around. He changed the subject. "Look at these houses! They look like something a house-elf would live in!"
Minako and Morwen looked at each other, then away, and tried not to snicker. Both of them were thinking of what Hermione would say, had she heard that remark.
The smell grew stronger as they made their way closer to the gates. It got so bad, the girls covered their noses with their shirts, and the wizards cast bubble-head charms on themselves, figuring that the Statute of Secrecy no longer applied, since the girls knew about magic. Peter was still curious as to how they knew about it, but any questions were saved until they could talk without choking.
Rats, chickens, and cats roamed the streets, and the two girls exchanged glances every now and again. Both were thinking about the differences between reality and the movie. So far things matched pretty closely, only reality was far more intense. Each wondered what else they would come across.
They passed through the village without incident, save for the danger of tripping over whatever animal should suddenly dodge across their paths. As they got closer to the gates, and wind stirred, pushing the smell from the city behind them. Mina thankful took a huge gulp of fresh air.
They reached the city gates, only to find them wide open.
"What d'ya wanna bet we have to face the robot thing?" Mina whispered to Morwen.
"The chances look good. We'll just play Hoggle."
"We'll what?" James asked; he'd overheard her last remark.
"Yeah, explain," Mina said.
Returning to her normal tone, Morwen gestured to the low wall that ran from the gates and went around the city.
"Look, Hoggle got around by walking on the wall. We can get out by going around on the wall, and ignoring the gate altogether."
"Oh!" Minako said. "No duh!" She threw an arm around the shorter girl's shoulders. "See, I knew you'd come up with a plan!"
The wizards exchanged glances.
"And why can't we go out the gate?" Sirius asked.
Both girls pointed at the iron gate for their answer, where they could see the two halves of Giganticus. The boys looked at it, confused. Having lived in the wizarding world most, if not all, of their lives, they had no clue what a robot was or what it looked like. So they never noticed the one that had been built into the gates to keep intruders away from the castle.
James rolled his eyes. "I don't get. It's just some stupid gate."
"Well, we don't have time to explain," Morwen told him.
She cupped her hands so Mina could step up and pull herself onto the low wall. The taller girl then reached down and helped her friend up. Morwen turned and reached out her hand for the next person, but the Marauders stayed where the were.
"We'll walk out, thanks," James said.
"I really wouldn't do that if I were you," Mina warned. "You'll be trapped."
"Look, we came here for excitement! Not so we could run like Muggles from every -"
Sirius' voice trailed off when he remembered that both girls were Muggles themselves. Mina's face was white with anger, and if Morwen hadn't been in her way, she would've jumped down and strangled him. She was kept trying to yell at them, but she was so angry the words wouldn't come out. Morwen's face was still, her eyes staring at him with anger and hate. Every time Mina tried to move around her to strangle him, she moved to block her friend, but her eyes never left Sirius face.
"We are not cowards because we are better informed then you," she said quietly. "But since we 'run from everything,' it's understandable that you want to make your own way..."
Mina gave a sharp nod and went down the other side of the wall. Morwen held out her hand again. Looking hesitantly at Sirius, Remus reached out and climbed up next to Morwen. She moved over as he reached out for Peter's hand. Once Peter safely on the other side, he looked back at Sirius and James. Sirius stepped forward and held up his hand.
"I thought you wanted to walk out the gate," Morwen snapped.
"Fine, we will," James retorted. "I bet there isn't any thing we have to worry about; not with our magic."
Tight lipped, Morwen swung down off the wall. Remus looked back at his two best friends.
"Maybe you should reconsider -"
"And let those two think they've won? No way," James said.
"Go on, Moony," Sirius told him. "There's nothing we need to worry about."
Remus bit his lip. He didn't want to abandon his friends, but the girls did seem to know about this place...
With a sigh, he shrugged. "Good luck."
He dropped down by the girls and Peter. The four of them walked around and stood in front of the city gate, waiting for James and Sirius. The boys walked toward them, only slightly nervous as they passed the first gate. When nothing happened to them as they neared the second gate, they exchanged smirks, sure the two girls were insane.
That was when the floor fell out beneath them. Mina, Morwen, Peter, and Remus watched, horrified, as the two disappeared. The trap door swung back in place, and the two girls had to grab the backs of the wizards' robes to keep them from running to where their friends stood.
"That wasn't in the movie..." Morwen muttered.
"Let's get out of here. We need to find the hedge maze," Mina said. "Then we'll find them."
Morwen nodded. She tugged Peter around by his robes and began to pull him along with her.
"Let me go!" he cried.
"Come on, we gotta help Porngs!" Remus yelled.
"There's nothing you can do," Morwen said. The boys stopped struggling and looked at her. "There's a way to the underground maze-" Morwen glanced at Mina, "-and we can take you there."
"Then let's go!" Remus took the lead, heading out into Junk Town. Peter followed right behind him. Morwen placed a hand on Mina's sleeve to hold her back; the two needed to talk.
